A
Rainbow Honor Roll:
A Partial Who's Who in GLBT History

Acton, Harold (1904 - 1994), according to GLBTQ, a British poet, novelist, historian, university lecturer, Royal Air Force officer, and philanthropist, Acton's true vocation was that of an aesthete with a mission, in his own words, to "excite rage in the hearts of the Philistines." He "created the fashion for Oxford bags; trousers which had a lot of fabric in the legs." (Lloyd)

Anderson,
Coach Eric "Gumby" (? ) first openly gay American high
school track coach in 1993, author of Trailblazing: The True Story
of America's First Openly Gay Track Coach; a Ph.D. candidate, he
writes on gay sports and distrance running, with a website
for gay and lesbian athletes.

Beach, Sylvia
Woodbridge (1887 - 1962), author, co - owner of the English - language
Shakespeare and Company, a bookstore and lending library which became
a hub of activity and contact for English - speaking writers and artists
in Paris, wrote Shakespeare
and Company (1959)

Bearse, Amanda
(1958 - ), American actress, writer and director, most known for
her work in Married with Children (1987)

Bean, Billy, American professional baseball player, played Tigers, Dodgers and
Padres (career batting average was .226 out of 272 games); now runs
a restaurant in Miami.

Benson, E. F. (Fred) (1867 - 1940), noted prolific British humorist author of over 100 books: serious novels, ghost stories, plays, biographies. "Best remembered for his Mapp & Lucia comedies written between 1920 and 1939 and other comic novels such as Paying Guests and Mrs Ames. He became mayor of Rye, the Sussex town that provided the model for his fictional Tilling, from 1934 to 1937." (from a bibliographical site online). "One of his characters, Georgie (who appears in several books) is obviously gay and yet he is sympathetic; we are supposed to find his embroidery and 'outre' clothes both attractive and amusing. ... Fred was also the confidant to whom Bosie told enough of his life with Oscar Wilde for Hickman, who was of the party, to write The Green Carnation." (Lloyd)

Brooks, Louise
(1906-1985), American film actress noted for her role as Lulu in
Pandora's Box (1928), became known, mostly, for her bobbed hair
style, outspoken and freethinking, she appeared in a few excellent German
films, ending her career in 1938 with only 25 films.

Brown, Howard
(1924 - 1975), American physician, health administrator, activist, helped
found the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and sat on the boards
of the Lambda Foundation and the Institute for Human Identity

Carroll, Helen,
American Athletic Diversity Specialist, accaliamed national Championship
Basketball Coach from University of North Carolina-Asheville; director
of National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletic Director, featured
in Out For A Change: Addressing Homophobia in Women's Sports
(film) and Pat Griffin's book, Strong Women, Deep Closets.

Douglas, Lord Alfred (Bosie) (1870 - 1945), British poet, infamous friend of Oscar Wilde. It was the suing of Douglas' father that acted as the catalysis of Wilde's downfall. Douglas later married and spent much energy suing people regarding his relationship with Wilde. Douglas was considered by some, the best sonnet writer of his generation. (see Bosie : The Man, The Poet, The Lover of Oscar Wilde)

Grant, Cary
(1904 - 1986), English-born American actor, one of Hollywood's
most popular actors, noted for his work with director Alfred Hitchcock,
North by Northwest (1959), (see Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood
Gays: Conversations With...)

Main, Marjorie
(1890-1975), American character actress known for her "down-home
mannerisms and her chalk-on-blackboard voice." Starred as Ma Kettle
with Percy Kilbride in the "Ma and Pa Kettle" series of films
(1947-1957) (see Hollywood
Lesbians )

McDaniel, Hattie
(1895 - 1952) African-American actress on radio, stage and film,
the first black Academy Award winner (1940) for her role in Gone
With the Wind (seeHattie:
The Life of Hattie McDaniel)

Merrill, James (1926 - 1995) American poet most widely known as "The Ouija poet"
for his narrative poems that record the Ouija board sessions he and
a friend conducted with "spirits from another world"...Twice
winner of National Book Award, Nights
and Days (1966)

Monette, Paul
(1945 - 1995), American poet, novelist, and essayist, author of 20 books,
Becoming
a Man: Half a Life Story (1992, winner American National Book
Award)

Muska, Michael,
(..) American former track-and-field coach at Auburn and Northwestern,
now athletic director of Oberlin College, the first openly gay man to
hold such a position.

Navratilova,
Martina (1956 - ), Czech tennis pro, considered one of the best
women's tennis players of the 20th century, whose accomplishments include
56 Grand Slam titles, 167 tournament wins in singles, 165 wins in doubles
and the Grand Slam of tennis in 1983 - 84

Nichols, Beverly (1898 - 1983), prolific British author on subjects ranging from religion to politics and travel, in addition to authoring six novels, five detective mysteries, four children’s stories, six autobiographies, and six plays. He attempted to create a homosexual political group. Noted for Merry Hall, Laughter On The Stairs, Sunlight On The Lawn, Garden Open Today, Garden Open Tomorrow (see Beverley Nichols : A Life)

Nightingale,
Florence (1820 - 1910), Italian - born, British nursing hero of
the Crimean War (1854), "The Lady of the Lamp," founder of
nursing as a trained profession for women

Nyro, Laura
(1948 - 1997), American composer, singer, considered one of the most
important women in rock history, with ballads which combined elements
of folk, soul and gospel, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession

Roberts, Cecil Edric Mornington (1892 - 1976), British author and journalist. "His novel, Scissors: A novel of youth (1923) has a gay couple in it (one of the first in an English language novel)." (Lloyd)

Roberts, Ian
(ca1980 - ), English-born Australian popular rugy player who became
the first major sports figure in Australia to come out (see Paul Freeman's
Ian Robert - Finding Out) (website)

Robbins, Jerome
(1918 - 1998), American choreographer for stage and film, winner 4 Tony
and 2 Academy Awards, West
Side Story (1957)

Roosevelt, Eleanor
(1884 - 1962), American social activist, First Lady, author, considered
her greatest legacy the creation of The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights through the United Nations (see Blanche Wiesen Cook's Eleanor
Roosevelt, 1884-1933)

Rorem, Ned
(1923 - ), American composer and author, Air Music: Ten Etudes of
Orchestra, won a Pulitzer Prize for music 1976, well-known for his
diaries, The
Later Diaries 1961-1972

Stanwyck,
Barbara (1907 - 1990), American film and television star, noted
for her work in Big Valley (tv series) and 93 movies, including
Sorry Wrong Number (1948) and Double Indemnity (1944), nominated
4 times for an Oscar during her 59 year career.

Tilden, Bill
(1893 - 1953), American tennis star who won 7 U.S. Championships (1920
- 1929), three Wimbledon crowns, with a match record of 907 - 62, eventually
banned from most courts when he was found to be gay (see Deford Frank's,
Big
Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and the Tragedy)

Tipton, Billy
(1904 - 1989), jazz musician and entertainer, born a woman, lived
adult life as a man, marrying 5 women, adopting 3 children...outed at
his death by the doctor. (see Suits
Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton)

Zeffirelli,
Franco (1923 - ), Italian stage and film director, costume designer,
author, directed several operas, and made two popular Shakespeare films,
Romeo & Juliet (1968) and The
Taming of the Shrew (1967)

Wowereit, Klaus
(1953 - ), the first openly gay mayor of a German metropolis, Berlin
(2001)